After a slow start to the new campaign, Gareth Taylor’s side go into this weekend’s fixture off the back of successive wins in the Continental Cup and WSL against Durham and Leicester respectively.
We will also be hoping to gain revenge against our opponents after losing out to Emma Hayes’ side in an FA Cup semi-final at the end of October.
But Walsh referenced out 2-2 draw with Manchester United, one of her first games back from injury, as evidence that City have both the belief and motivation needed to perform on the big occasion.
“It’s easy to get up for these (kind of) games,” she told mancity.com.
“In the United game, we had ten players for a large period but that was probably the best example of us sticking together as a group to grind out a result.
“Of course, we weren’t expecting to go down to 10 players, so I had to push myself to grind that out but both goals we scored were with ten players and we knew what we had to do.
“We all believed we could win that game – after we equalised, we believed we could get a third, which shows where this group is at.
“Against Chelsea, we played some good football in patches so we’ll build on that and put the work in on the training pitch.
“These are big games coming up with some big results up for grabs. Let’s show people we still mean business.”
It’s five years to the day since a 19-year-old Walsh grabbed her first goal for the Club, earning City a 1-0 Women’s Champions League victory over Brondby with a stunning long-range drive.
And the midfielder also opened her account for the 2021-22 campaign in similarly spectacular fashion in Sunday’s 4-1 WSL win against Leicester.
The 24-year-old missed the start of the new season through injury but, after making her return to the first team fold in October, she believes it won’t be long before she’s back to her best.
She said: “I’m feeling good. I’m still trying to get back into the flow of things – I missed a large part of the season, and we signed a lot of new players so I’m finding my way back in and getting up to speed.
“Hopefully, it won’t be long (until I’m back to my best). I’m quite an impatient person and I always want to try and have the perfect game.
“There’s no-one who kicks themselves more than me but hopefully, it won’t be too long. I’m pushing and trying. We’ll see what happens in the next few games.
“The girls are in a good place in the squad – and I’m happy to be back.”
